The announcement of a reboot of Sex and the City has been met with delight from fans who would love to see where Carrie Bradshaw and her friends have ended up late in life. The show and the following duology of movies generally carried a presentation style that’s become very recognizable.
However, this has also meant that the series has ended up making mistakes by repeating practices that haven’t resulted in the best scenarios. These have affected the characters’ likability factor or would feel too dated if they were to make a return in the revival. For the reboot to be a success, it needs to steer clear of certain mistakes the series has made before.
Making The Characters Act Clueless
The characters have varying degrees of intelligence, but the later seasons of Sex and the City chose to make their dim moments highlight far too much. This reached the point where they would make a fuss out of menial things, which made them look clueless for no reason.
The revival has to avoid indulging in stuff like Charlotte worrying about her husband and the nanny, and Carrie thinking Big is being considerate when he actually isn’t, as it only achieves in making the characters seem as if they’ve never learned anything from their experiences.
Recurring Storylines About Infidelity
Those who recall the relationship between Carrie and Aidan mainly remember how it was riddled with infidelity. She cheated on him with Big, before switching things up in Sex and the City 2 by kissing Aidan when she was married to Big.
It wasn’t just restricted to Carrie, as every character faced such a scenario. Eventually, cheating angles became very tried-and-tested, with nothing to surprise fans with. If brought back for the revival, it will take away any reason for viewers to expect something new.
Carrie Acting Too Conceited
It wouldn’t be Carrie if she didn’t act like a drama queen every now and then. However, the series made the mistake of making her freak out over every little thing. So much so, that it pretty much became her defining character trait to make everything about herself.
This was most evident in Sex and the City 2, where Carrie fretted over a non-issue with Mr. Big and the whole movie played out because of it. The revival would do better by showing a more developed Carrie who’s finally understood she’s not the only one whose problems matter.
Turning Established Storylines Immaterial
Samantha was the one who suffered from this the most, with many storylines surrounding her being dropped for no real reason. While she’s not going to be in the revival, bringing back this aspect would be setting up the series for failure since a limited-series run can’t afford such practice.
The main problem is how Sex and the City did away with certain stories from one finale to the next premiere, or from one movie to the next. This messed with fans’ resolution of previous events, as they ultimately became immaterial later on.
Referring To Samantha Purely As Comic Relief
Samantha’s wi moments were a highlight that made her such a favorite, but the show blew this up too much in later times to turn her into comic relief. With Samantha out for the revival, there’s a big possibility the series might misinterpret fans’ connection with her only on the basis of her wacky nature.
It would be a mistake to make references to Samantha purely on the questionable misadventures she had, as it would end up looking like a cheap shot against the character. She should be remembered fondly to confirm the impact she had on her friends, something the series had earlier made the mistake of overlooking.
Bringing Celebrity Appearances Without Lasting Impact
Sex and the City had a number of high profile names who appeared for guest appearances, with some showing up before they reached stardom. Still, none of these amount to anything in the grand scheme of things but the series and movies had made a habit of bringing such stars on-screen.
A return to this style would be counterproductive for the revival, as the story is meant to be a personal one about friends and not about quirky things on the scene that will justify bringing celebrity cameos. These end up stealing focus from the main characters for the purpose of fan service.
Sudden Relationship Issues That Weren't There Before
Certain problems for the characters tended to come out of nowhere without explanation. These weren’t organically brought up based on previous stories but were clearly created to further the plot. Relationships like Miranda’s and Steve’s suffered from this trope and don’t need a return for the revival.
Since fans last saw these characters over a decade ago, their endings have been firmly placed in their perceptions and don’t need to be ruined by relationship issues that weren’t distinguishable in their characterizations. It was passable in the original series but won’t work after a long time span.
Indulging In Too Much Awkward Humor
Fans love the awkwardness present in Sex and the City, which brings its own brand of humor through this means. This wasn’t a problem in the original series, but the following two movies made the mistake of turning this comedic feature into the only funny thing about it.
Certain couples like Charlotte and Harry became all about this trope, which made it difficult to take them seriously. With the characters much older in the revival, the charm of watching awkward situations won’t feel the same since fans expect them to have gotten a clue by this point.
A "Will They?/Won't They?" Arc As The Main Plotline
The bulk of Sex and the City had to do with Mr. Big and Carrie dilly-dallying over whether they wanted to be together. This worked great back then but ended up being the wrong route to take for the movies, which stuck to this plotline despite their issues having been resolved earlier.
It’s not clear if Big will feature in the revival; whether he does or doesn’t, Carrie shouldn’t be stuck in a similar loop once again. The revival will be bogged down the way the movies were since it's difficult to regain that interest level the “will they?”/won’t they?” trope when it’s been done plenty of times before.
Not Balancing Out Storylines Between The Characters
There were definitely times where things seemed to be all about Carrie, with the rest of the girls stuck in subplots that were clearly not supposed to be too important. This mistake cost the series in the long-run, as Carrie’s faults in character became highlighted when they could have been hidden had the other characters had more screentime.
The revival needs to avoid repeating this mistake even more since a limited-series means the main trio won’t be around for much long. Without a balance between their individual arcs, the series won’t feel like a return to the Sex and the City style fans love.